PS 

2655 

P5 

G45 

1878 

MAIN 


UC-NRLF 


B    M    1DM    IDfl 


GIFT  OF 
Harry  East  Miller 


I'.AMY    JIM. 


cc 


GENTLEMAN    JIM 


BY 

THE  AUTHOR  OF 

STEPPING    HEAVENWARD. 


NEW   YORK  : 
ANSON    D.    F.   RANDOLPH   &  COMPANY, 

182   FIFTH  AVENUE. 


v  \  \     * 

^  *-^~\     *  —  ^ 


\     *  c 
*-^~\     *  —  ^  ^ 


COPYRIGHT,    1878.   BY 

T«F. 


G-ENTLEMAN  JIM. 


THERE'S  some  things  that  ought  to  be 
wrote  down,  I  mean  written  down.  Now  let 
me  see  ;  it  is  nigh  upon  twenty  years  ago  that 
a  young  fellow  worked  in  these  here  mines, 
and  handled  his  tools  so  ill  that  he  got  the 
name  of  "Clumsy  Joe."  If  anybody  met 
with  an  accident  going  down  the  shaft,  it  was 
always  him ;  if  anybody  got  blowed  up  and 
singed,  he  always  did.  His  face,  it  was  never 
handsome,  but  the  red  scars  of  his  burns  made 
it  ugly ;  and  his  hands,  rough  enough  before, 
had  got  unshapely  and  inconvenient  to  use. 
But  ugly  as  he  was,  and  clumsy  as  he  was, 
he'd  got  a  soft  heart  under  his  jacket,  and  the 

(7) 


M81812 


8  GENTLEMAN  JIM. 

school-master's  daughter  caught   and   held  it 


^  this: 

I  *  It  ..Wasn't  :tha£  -she^was  the  prettiest  girl 
anywhere  round,  though  she  was  ;  nor  that 
she  had  the  prettiest  ways  of  any  of  them, 
though  she  had.  It  was  the  loving-kindness 
she  felt  for  everybody  in  shame  or  trouble. 
If  a  fellow  got  chaffed  for  his  awkwardness, 
and  was  burning  with  shame,  she'd  lay  on  a 
soft  word  that  cooled  and  soothed  him.  If  one 
was  dismissed  for  some  trifling  fault,  rest  she 
would  not  till  she'd  plead  him  back  again.  If 
there  was  an  accident,  and  a  fellow's  face  was 
made  horrible  to  look  at  she'd  work  at  it  and 
shape  it,  and  bear  with  it,  and  say,  over  and 
over  again  : 

"  It's  the  heart  I  look  at,  not  the  face  ;  and 
the  scars  of  burns  are  not  half  so  marring  as 
seams  of  sin." 

I  wasn't  the  only  one  she  was  kind   to  ;  it 


GENTLEMAN-  JIM.  9 

was  all  the  same  to  every  man,  woman,  and 
child  for  miles  round.  I  knowed  it,  and  yet  I 
wouldn't  know  it. 

All  the  same,  I  never  had  the  least  hope 
that  she  would  ever  love  me.  I  knowed  she 
never  could  love  such  a  silly  softy  as  I  was ; 
but  it  was  some  comfort  that  she  did  not  care 
any  more  for  the  other  men  than  she  did  for 
me. 

But,  blundering  as  usual,  I  have  run  on  all 
this  time  without  a  word  about  Gentleman 
Jim. 

When  he  first  come  among  us,  I  remember 
that,  after  one  look  at  his  face,  I  looked  sharp 
at  his  hands,  thinking  to  see  them  soft  and 
white,  with  pink  nails.  But  they  were  grimy 
and  used  to  hard  work,  so  it  was  plain  he  was 
made  of  clay,  like  the  rest  of  us,  only  he  was 
made  of  a  kind  out  of  the  common.  He  never 
took  airs  upon  himself,  but  mated  with  us  all, 
friendly  and  agreeable.  For  all  that  he  hadn't 


10  GENTLEMAN  JIM. 

been  in  the  mines  a  month  before  we  all  spoke 
of  him  as  Gentleman  Jim.  Nobody  would 
have  dared  to  call  him  such  a  grand  name  to 
his  face,  he  wouldn't  have  stood  it  if  they  had. 
And  as  I  watched  him  from  day  to  day,  I  said 
to  myself,  "  Here's  a  man  fit  for  Rosemary  " — 
there !  her  name  has  slipped  out  at  last ! 
He'll  go  raving  distracted  about  her,  and 
she'll  do  the  same  by  him  as  soon  as  she 
knows  it,  or  my  name  aint  Clumsy  Joe. 

But  he  hadn't  been  among  us  many  days 
before  her  father  took  to  his  bed  and  never 
left  it  again. 

Now,  she  had  plenty  of  friends  who  would 
have  been  glad  to  help  her  nurse  him,  but  no, 
nobody  was  to  do  for  him  but  herself.  She  said 
she  had  promised  her  mother,  on  her  death 
bed,  not  to  let  him  miss  her  love  and  care, 
and  she  never  would,  not  she. 

Well,  the  old  man  lived  on  and  on,  and  she 
began  to  flag.  She  get  hardly  any  sleep,  and 


GENTLEMAN  JIM.  11 

never  went  out  to  breathe  the  fresh  air,  and 
it  made  my  heart  ache  to  see  her  young  life 
wasting  away.  For  I  could  see  her,  plainly, 
through  the  low  cottage  window.  "  If  he 
doesn't  die  soon,  she  will,"  says  I  to  myself. 

A  NIGHT'S  ADVENTURE. 

And  I  made  up  my  mind  to  be  on  hand 
when  she  broke  down  ;  leastways,  if  it  was  not 
when  I  was  down  in  the  mine.  So  I  kept 
watch  of  the  house  and  of  every  step  she  took, 
and  one  night  she  stepped  to  the  door;  dear 
me !  she  knowed  I  couldn't  sleep  when  she 
was  awake,  and — 

"  Joe  ?  "  says  she. 

"  Yes,"  says  I. 

"  If  I  could  go  to  sleep  for  just  five  minutes 
I  should  be  all  right,"  says  she.  "You  just 
watch  father  five  minutes,  and  I'll  wake  up 
bright  and  strong.  And,  Joe — " 

By  this  time  we'd  got   into  the  house,  and 


12  GENTLEMAN  JIM. 

she  had  staggered  to  the  bed  where  hei 
father  lay  and  was  asleep ;  asleep  like  one 
dead.  It  was  a  cold,  stormy  night,  and  the 
fire  had  got  low.  I  took  off  my  shoes  and 
crept,  softly,  to  the  grate  and  put  on  coals ; 
then  I  looked  for  something  to  cover  the  poor 
little  lass  with,  but  could  not  find  either  shawl 
or  blanket,  so  I  took  off  my  coat  and  spread 
it  over  her  shoulders. 

The  old  man  was  asleep,  too,  and  I  hardly 
dared  to  breathe,  lest  I  should  wake  them. 
After  a  while  a  great,  noisy  clock  began  to 
strike  one,  two,  three;  I  thought  if  I  let  it 
go  on  to  twelve  they  would  certainly  wake 
up.  So  I  stole  along  to  stop  it. 

Now  there  was  a  little  table  setting  near 

o 

the  bed,  with  cups  and  bottles  and  what  not 
on  it,  and  what  should  I  do  but  upset  it  and 
make  noise  enough  to  rouse  the  whole  village. 
The  old  man  awoke  with  a  start. 

"  Whatever  are  you  about,  child?"  says  he, 


GENTLEMAN  JIM.  1& 

*  to  make  all  this  din  just  as  I  was  going  off 
into  a  doze.  I  sha'n't  get  a  wink  of  sleep  to 
night.  Is  the  kettle  boiling  ?  Make  me  a 
cup  of  tea,  then." 

Now  here  was  a  pretty  mess  I'd  made  of  it ! 
I  knowed  no  more'n  a  baby  where  the  tea  was, 
nor  how  to  make  it  if  I  did. 

But  I  crept  round  and  opened  boxes,  and 
felt  of  this  bag  and  that,  and  at  last  lighted 
on  it.  Now  how  much  to  boil  ?  If  it  was 
coffee  I  should  know  ;  but  should  a  fellow  put 
down  more  or  less  tea  to  boil?  At  last  I  took 
a  couple  of  handfuls,  poured  in  a  tea-cup  or 
two  of  water,  and  set  the  tea-pot  on  the  coals. 
After  a  while  I  looked  in,  and  if  the  water 
hadn't  boiled  away  !  I  poured  in  more,  and 
again  more ;  and  just  as  the  clock  struck  one, 
and  the  kettle  had  boiled  nearly  an  hour,  I 
thought  the  tea  must  be  done,  so  I  poured 
out  a  cup  and  carr  ed  it  to  the  old  man. 
He  took  one  swallrw  and  made  such  a 


14  GENTLEMAN  JIM. 

dreadful  face  that  I  saw  I  had  made  some 
blunder. 

"What  devil's  broth  is  this?"  he  cried  out. 
"Are  you  trying  to  poison  your  poor  old 
father?" 

I  knelt  down  on  the  floor  and  put  my 
mouth  to  his  ear,  and  says  I : 

"  It  isn't  HER.     It's  me  !  " 

Just  then  the  fire  flared  up,  and  he  saw  that 
the  lass  was  not  by  his  side.  His  fright  was 
a  sight  to  see.  He  thought  I  had  murdered 
his  daughter,  and  was  now  trying  to  poison 
him,  and  being  weak  and  low,  he  began  to  cry, 
like  a  child,  and  beg  for  mercy. 

"  Hush,  sir,  hush  !  "  says  I,  ready  to  burst ; 
"  put  out  your  hand  and  you'll  feel  her  lying 
asleep  by  you.  And  as  for  me,  I'm  Clumsy 
Joe,  nursing  of  you,  and  letting  that  poor 
soul  get  a  wink  of  sleep." 

"  It's  not  like  her  to  sleep  when  her  poor 
old  father  never  closes  his  eyes.  You  Ve  mur 


GENTLEMAN'  JIM.  15 

dered  her,  I  am  sure  of  it,"  he  said  in  a  feeble 
voice. 

"Indeed,  sir,"  says  I,  "you've  slept  nearly 
all  night,  and  as  to  the  poor  lass,  she's  not 
dead,  but  all  wore  out.  Put  your  hand  on 
hers,  and  listen  to  her  breathing." 

At  that  he  took  her  hand  in  his  and  was 
comforted,  and  spoke  kindly  to  me. 

"I  know  you  now,"  says  he,  "you're 
Clumsy  Joe.  But  how  the  child  sleeps ! 
Are  you  sure  you  haven't  given  her  some 
drug?" 

"  I've  give  her  an  easy  mind,"  says  I,  "and 
nothing  else.  She  knew  I'd  do  the  best  I 
could  for  you.  I  humbly  ask  your  pardon 
about  the  tea.  I  thought  if  I  boiled  it  an 
hour  it  would  be  beautiful." 

He  tossed  about  a  while,  and,  at  last,  fell 
asleep  again. 

I  had  time  now  to  think  of  my  hand,  which 
I  had  scalded  pouring  out  the  tea,  but  would 


16  GENTLEMAN  JIM. 

not  run  the  risk  of  waking  them  by  trying  to 
do  anything  for  it. 

So  the  hours  went  on  and  on ;  daylight  be 
gan  to  dawn,  and  I  was  growing  giddy,  for,  of 
course,  this  wasn't  the  first  night  I  hadn't 
been  to  bed ;  no,  nor  the  second,  or  the 
third. 

And  it  was  getting  toward  time  to  go  down 
into  the  mine  and  set  to  work !  And  sup 
pose  now  she  didn't  wake,  and  I  was  miss 
ing  when  my  turn  came?  Well,  I'd  out  with 
the  truth,  and  say  why  I  couldn't  help  it. 

But  who  would  believe  that  story? 

Who  would  believe  that  the  school-master's 
daughter  set  Clumsy  Joe  to  nurse  her 
father  when  she  might  have  had  Gentleman 
Jim,  with  all  his  handy,  noiseless  ways?  And 
was  her  name  to  be  mixed  up  with  mine?  I 
had  been  shivering  with  cold  for  several  hours, 
but  now  1  turned  hot. 

She  must  wake  up,  and  I  must  go. 


GENTLEMAN-  JIM.  17 

"  Rose  !  "  says  I. 

She  never  stirred. 

I  went  round  and  touched  her. 

"  Rose  !  "  says  I. 

She  smiled,  but  did  not  open  her  eyes. 

"  Yes,  I  know  he's  awkward,  but  he's  faith 
ful,  he's  faithful,  and  I'll  only  sleep  five  min 
utes,"  says  she. 

I  grew  wild  with  terror.  At  the  risk  of  of 
fending  her  forever  I  must  go.  What  must 
she  think  when  she  awoke  ?  The  physic  all 
upset,  the  cups  and  vials  broken,  and  all  the 
tea  wasted  !  No,  she'd  never  let  me  cross  her 
threshold  again. 

And  I  was  no  scholard,  and  couldn't  leave  a 
bit  of  writing  to  explain  my  ill-luck,  oh ! 

I  rushed  out  and  rushed  home,  if  home  it 
might  be  called,  where  there  never  was  a  wom 
an  set  her  foot,  and  we  men  did  for  ourselves. 

"What's   come  over  you,  Joe?"  says  one. 

"  You're  as  near  white  as  grime  permits.  ' 
2 


18  GENTLEMAN  JIM. 

"  It's    nothing,"    says    I,   "  but    a   scalded 
hand." 

ANOTHER  VERSION   OF  THE   NIGHT'S  AD- 
VENTURE. 

They   passed    out,    one    after    another,   at 
that,  only  Gentleman  Jim  stayed  behind. 

"  Let's  look  at  your  hand,  mate,"  says  he. 

"  But  you'll  catch  it  if  you're  behind-time," 
says  I. 

"  I  don't  suppose  they'll  murder  a  fellow/ 
says  he.  "  Whew  !  No  wonder  you're  white. 
Sit  down.  Here's  a  cup  of  coffee.  There,  I 
call  that  a  scientific  bandage,  and  you're  all 
right.  Eat  your  breakfast,  and  then  go  to 
bed." 

"  To  bed  ?  "  says  I.     "  To  work  you  mean." 

He  smiled  to  himself,  lifted  me  up,  chair 
and  all,  and  set  me  down  at  the  table. 

"  Behave  yourself,  and  eat  your  breakfast," 
says  he.     "And   Joe,   lad,   promise    me  that 


GENTLEMAN'  JIM.  19 

you'll  never  go  on  another  spree.  Pick  out 
some  good,  modest  girl  and  marry  her.  De- 
pend  on  it,  there's  only  one  thing  purifies  a 
man  more  than  love  for  a  good,  modest  girl, 
be  she  dead  or  alive." 

"  Jim,"  says  I,  "  don't  I  know  that  ?  Don't 
you  ever  talk  sprees  to  me  again.  What  have 
I  ever  done  to  make  you  think  I'm  a  wild  fel 
low  ?" 

"  I  never  will  suspect  you  again,  dear  mate, 
and  there's  my  hand  upon  it.  But  you  see, 
when  a  young  fellow  is  out  night  after  night, 
what  wonder  if  one  has  his  fears?  I  say  fears, 
Joe,  because  I've  always  loved  you,  and  took 
an  elder  brother's  right  to  look  after  you. 
And  now  you  really  must  go  to  bed.  You're 
as  weak  as  a  baby." 

"  But  my  work,  Jim  !  " 

"  What  am  I  as  strong  as  a  giant  for  if  not 
to  help  a  mate  in  trouble  ?  " 

I  looked  up  at  him,  and  for  once  let  him  see 


20  GENTLEMAN  JIM. 

how  I  loved  him.  But  1  should  be  ashamed 
to  tell  what  I  got  for  answer. 

Oh,  Gentleman  Jim ! 

As  he  went  out  I  tried  to  follow  him,  but 
fell  back  in  my  chair,  weak  and  helpless,  and 
soon  went  to  sleep,  and  never  woke  till  the 
men  came  home  from  their  work,  laughing 
and  talking,  at  night. 

"  Here's  Joe,  thinks  it  a  broiling  day  in 
July,  and  so  sits  in  his  shirt-sleeves,"  says  one. 

"  And  catches  his  death  of  cold,"  says  an 
other.  "  See  how  his  teeth  chatter." 

"  Come,  Joe,  you're  best  off  in  bed/'  says 
another. 

I  crawled  away  and  into  bed.  I  really 
thought  I  should  shake  to  pieces  I  was  so 
chilled  through  and  through.  At  last  I  fell 
into  uneasy  sleep,  but  was  gradually  roused 
by  the  talk  of  two  men  ;  I  knew  them  by  their 
voices— Tom  Jinkins  and  Lazy  Luke  Hobbs 

"  He  must  have  been  drunk,"  says  Luke. 


GENTLEMAN  JIM.  21 

"Drunk?"  says  Tom.  "  Why,  he's  as 
drunk  as  a  beast,  still." 

"  They  say  he  frightened  the  old  man  to 
death  with  his  antics.  First  he  puts  the  girl 
on  the  bed,  and  tries  to  smother  her  with  his 
jacket.  She  falls  into  a  swoon,  and  that  satis 
fies  him,  for  he  thinks  she's  dead.  Then  he 
takes  bottle  after  bottle  and  breaks  them  on 
the  old  man's  head  till  the  bed  is  a  sight  to 
behold.  Then  he  pours  physic  all  over 
the  floor,  till  your  feet  stick  to  it.  Then  he 
takes  all  the  tea  in  the  house,  half  a  pound,  if 
not  more,  and  sets  it  on  to  boil,  and  tries  to 
make  the  old  man  drink  some  of  it." 

"  What  was  you  skulking  round  there  for, 
anyhow  ? " 

"  That's  my  business,  not  yours.  I  see  Joe 
pacing  up  and  down,  like  a  sentinel,  and  not 
at  all  as  if  he'd  been  drinking  ;  but  when  T 
saw  him  go  into  the  house,  I  thought  I'd  see 
what  was  up,  that's  all." 


2-2  GENTLEMAN  JIM, 

"  I  never  knew  him  to  drink,"  says  the 
other.  "All  the  same,  I'm  glad  he's  got 
caught  at  it." 

"  Well,  of  course,  the  fool  will  be  dismissed, 
and  if  he  gets  off  at  that,  he'll  get  off  cheap. 
You  see,  they  have  his  coat ;  there's  no  get 
ting  round  that.  And,  for  my  part,  I  think 
he  ought  to  be  tried  for  murder." 

"  If  it  comes  to  that  I'll  bolt,"  says  Luke. 
"  Let  the  Lord  blow  him  up  in  the  mine  if 
He  chooses,  but  I  aint  a-going  to  swear  away 
his  life.  I  wouldn't  swear  away  a  toad's,  for 
that  matter." 

"  No,  you're  too  lazy.  But  here  comes 
Gentleman  Jim.  Let's  see  what  he  has  to 
say,  now,  for  his  dear  Joe." 

By  this  time  I  was  sitting  up  in  bed  with 
every  hair  standing  on  end.  Was  things  as 
they  said?  Had  I  been  drunk?  Was  I  drunk 
now?  Had  I  tried  to  smother  the  little  lass? 
Had  I  scared  her  father  to  death?  Was  he 


GENTLEMAN  JIM.  23 

really  dead?  Had  I  really  killed  him?  I 
tried  to  cry  out,  but  my  voice  failed  me. 
Then  I  heard  Gentleman  Jim's,  calm  and  clear 
at  first,  then  angry  with  righteous  anger. 

"What  do  I  think  of  him,  now?  I  think 
of  him  as  David  thought  of  Jonathan.  There 
isn't  one  of  you  fit  to  pass  him  the  salt. 
There  isn't  one  of  you  would  sacrifice  a  night's 
sleep  for  his  best  friend,  and  here's  this  Joe's 
lost  his  reason  by  dint  o'  watching  night  after 
night  over  an  old  man  that  never  had  a  kind 
word  for  him." 

Then  everybody  spoke  at  once,  and  I  could 
not  make  out  a  word  till  I  heard  Jim's  voice 
ring  out, 

"  SILENCE ! " 

and  all  became  as  still  as  the  grave.  Then 
another  voice,  trembling,  tearful,  passionate 
by  turns,  set  my  heart  beating  till  I  had  to 
hold  on  to  it  with  my  two  hands. 

"  It  is  robodv's  fault  but  mine,"  she  said 


24  GENTLEMAN  JIM. 

"  I  went  to  sleep  thinking  to  get  strength  fot 
what  was  coming.  For  the  doctor  said  my 
poor  father  would  only  live  a  few  days.  And 
I  was  jealous  of  letting  any  one  else  do  for 
him,  and  so  kept  up  night  after  night,  night 
after  night,  till  my  head  got  confused,  and  I 
could  not  remember  the  doctor's  directions. 
And  all  the  time  here  was  this  poor  lad  you're 
all  abusing,  pacing  up  and  down  in  the  cold 
and  the  rain  and  the  snow,  never  asking  for, 
never  getting  a  kind  word  from  me,  watching 
for  the  moment  when  I  should  give  out.  And 
I  only  thought  to  sleep  five  minutes  !  I  did 
not  know  I  was  used  up.  And  when  I  woke, 
rested  and  fresh,  what  do  I  find  tucked  about 
my  shoulders  but  this  coat !  You  all  know  it. 
Yes,  it's  Clumsy  Joe's.  He  deprived  himself 
of  it  through  the  coldest  night  ever  known 
here,  that  a  poor,  weary  lass,  with  a  great  sor 
row  before  her,  might  get  rested  against  it 


GENTLEMAN  JIM.  25 

Here  a  rough  called  out  that  she  was  wel« 
come  to  make  Clumsy  Joe  her  young  man 
if  she  liked,  and  with  one  stride  Jim  was  upon 
him. 

"  Take  back  those  words ! " 

The  man  was  as  strong  as  a  lion,  but  he 
quailed  before  Jim's  eye. 

"  I  meant  no  harm,"  he  said. 

Then  Jim  offered  the  poor  weeping  girl  his 
arm,  and  walked  away  with  her  as  if  he  was  a 
lord  and  she  a  lady. 

Of  course  I  did  not  see  all  that,  but  it  was 
told  me  afterward. 

And  later  I  found  I  had  been  very  ill  for 
a  week,  and  out  of  my  head.  During  that 
time  the  school-master  died,  and  was  buried. 
I  asked  the  surgeon  if  I  had  hastened  his 
death  by  my  clumsiness,  and  he  said  no.  You 
see,  we  have  so  many  accidents  in  the  mines 
we  keep  a  surgeon,  us  miners.  Single  men 
pay  him  so  much  a  month,  year  in  and  year 


26  GENTLEMAN  JIM. 

out,  and  married  men  twice  as  miuh,  and  then 
he  is  bound  to  see  us  through  any  illness  or 
hurt  that  comes  to  us. 

COMPLICATIONS. 

When  I  was  strong  enough  to  get  out  again, 
I  found  that  Rosemary's  strength  all  gave  out 
as  soon  as  her  father's  funeral  was  over.  The 
wives  and  the  girls  of  the  miners  were  too 
rough  to  be  fit  to  nurse  her;  in  them  days 
women  worked  in  the  mines  with  the  men, 
and  grew  strong  and  coarse  with  the  hard 
work.  So  the  surgeon  got  a  nurse  for  her. 
She  didn't  know,  and  I  didn't  know,  that 
Gentleman  Jim  paid  that  woman  her  wages. 
I  might  have  knowed  it ;  it  was  just  like  him. 

I  weaned  the  surgeon  asking  him  how  the 
lass  was,  and  he  always  made  the  same  an 
swer — 

"  If  it  had  not  been  for  the  sleep  she  had 
the  night  before  her  father  died,  it  would  have 


GENTLEMAN  JIM.  27 

been  useless  to  tr)  to  save  her.  As  it  is,  it  will 
take  time.  She  is  completely  worn  out." 

It  did  take  time,  but  she  battled  through. 
The  first  day  she  was  up  and  dressed  I  made 
bold  to  go  and  see  her. 

And  I  saw  signs  of  Gentleman  Jim's  having 
looked  after  her  during  her  illness  ;  little  bits 
of  fine  carving,  such  as  women  like ;  a  bird 
cage,  such  as  he  used  to  make  ;  a  pretty  table 
for  her  work-basket. 

But  when  I  led  the  way  for  her  to  speak 
of  them,  she  said  she  understood  they  came 
from  me.  And  then  again,  she  hadn't  seen 
Jim  since  the  day  he  took  her  home  after  she 
had  brought  my  coat. 

I  couldn't  make  her  out,  nor  him  out.  She 
seemed  so  changed  ;  so  happy,  and  as  if  she 
expected  something  that  was  going  to  make 
her  happier  yet. 

"  It  must  be  Jim,"  I  thought. 

And  why  not  ?    There  wasn't  a  worthy  man 


28  GENTLEMAN  JIM. 

among  us  youngsters  that  wouldn't  be  glad  tc 
get  her  for  his  wife,  and  she  knowed  it.  Then 
why  shouldn't  Gentleman  Jim  be  like  the  rest? 

At  first  the  thought  tore  me  to  pieces,  self 
ish  dog  in  the  manger  that  I  was  ! 

"  He  sha'n't  have  her  !  he  sha'n't  have  her  !  " 
I  kept  crying  out  in  my  secret  heart.  And  I 
grew  cold  and  sullen  to  him.  Before  that,  if  he 
got  out  of  wicks  or  powder,  or  anything  else  in 
his  chest,  he  was  free  to  take  what  he  would 
from  mine.  But  now  I  let  him  go  to  any  in 
convenience  ;  touch  my  tools  he  should  not. 

He  never  said  a  word  beyond,  "  Why,  Joe, 
lad?"  and  that  as  kind  as  a  woman. 

It's  hard  on  a  young  fellow  in  the  midst  of 
such  a  battle  not  to  have  a  mother,  or  a 
woman  he  could  make  a  mother  of,  to  counsel 
and  strengthen  him.  As  for  me,  it  seemed  as 
if  Satan  had  got  hold  of  me,  and  never  would 
let  me  go.  Oh,  what  a  horrid  thing  to  be 
tempted  of  him  ! 


GENTLEMAN  JIM.  29 

But  there  is  One  stronger  than  Satan,  and 
He  condescended  to  whisper  to  me,  a  poor, 
grimy  miner,  working  underground. 

"  Joe,"  says  He,  "  what  have  I  done  for 
you?  Anything?" 

"  Yes,  Master,"  says  I,  "  you've  saved  my 
soul." 

"  Then  have  you  nothing  to  do  for  me  ? " 
says  He. 

At  that  my  hard  heart  melted,  and  I  had  to 
go  and  hide  in  a  dusky  corner,  lest  my  mates 
should  see  me  a-crying. 

I  hadn't  thought  before  that  He  cared  how 
I  came  out  of  this  fight.  But  I  knew  now  that 
He  did  care,  even  for  me,  even  me.  And  if 
He  would  stand  by  me,  and  help  me  bear  it,  I 
could  let  Jim  have  her. 

But  Jim  was  queer.  He  didn't  see  that  she 
loved  him,  and  she  wasn't  any  nearer  to  him 
a  year  after  her  father's  death  than  she  was 
the  day  after,  when  he  took  her  home  in  such 


30  GENTLEMAN  JIM. 

a  lordly  way.  The  poor  thing  began  to  wilt 
I  wouldn't  have  you  think  she  was  love-sick 
and  silly  ;  there  was  too  much  to  her  for  that ; 
but  ycu  know  how  a  plant  droops  that  lacks 
water.  She  had  a  smile  and  a  pleasant  word 
for  everybody,  and  was  as  reserved  and 
modest  to  Jim  as  a  shy  hare ;  all  the  same,  I 
knowed  her  heart  by  mine. 

It's  wearing  to  see  them  you  love  suf 
fer;  and  after  a  time,  and  another  fight  with 
my  evil  heart,  I  got  so  as  to  stand  the  idea  of 
their  getting  married  to  each  other.  And  yet, 
further  along,  the  notion  of  their  having  lads 
and  lasses  of  their  own. 

This  put  me  up  to  saving  my  wages,  for,  of 
course,  Rosemary's  children  must  have  school 
ing,  so's  to  keep  step  with  her. 

A   MIDNIGHT  ASSAULT. 

Now  her  cottage  was  in  a  lonesome  place, 
and  she  lived  there  all  by  herself.  It  did  not 


GENTLEMAN  JIM.  31 

seem  dangerous ;  our  men  respected  her  too 
much  to  molest  her.  But  one  night  a  fellow 
I'd  had  a  chance  to  do  a  kind  turn  for,  came 
to  me  most  mysterious,  and  winked  at  me  to 
go  out  of  doors  with  him.  I  went  out,  and 
says  he : 

"  Rosemary's  your  sweetheart,  isn't  she?" 

"  Not  she  !  "  says  I.  "  Do  you  suppose  she'd 
look  at  a  fellow  like  me?  " 

"  I  don't  see  why  not,"  says  he.  "  Anyhow, 
you  care  for  her,  don't  you  ?  " 

I  owned  I  did. 

"  Well,"  says  he,  "  Big  Mike  has  been  per 
secuting  her  off  and  on,  and  to-day  I  over 
heard  him  lay  a  wager  that  if  he  couldn't 
have  her  one  way  he'd  have  her  another.  Of 
course  he'd  been  drinking,  or  he'd  have  kept 
his  plans  to  himself.  But  he'll  attack  her  as 
soon  as  he  thinks  you  are  asleep.  She's  all 
alone  in  her  house,  you  know,  with  nobody  ta 
defend  her,  and  though  I'd  like  the  job  my- 


32  GENTLEMAN  JIM. 

self,  I'll  let  you  have  a  hand  in  it,  Joe,  foi 
what  you've  done  for  me." 

"What!  two  against  one? "says  I.  "I'll 
never  consent  to  that.  But  I  thank  you,  all 
the  same,  for  this  warning." 

"  But  suppose  he  gets  the  upper  hand  of 
you  ;  she'll  be  in  his  power  then." 

"  He'll  not  be  in  a  state  to  hurt  a  fly,"  says 
I,  "when  I've  done  with  him." 

"  But  he  wouldn't  mind  putting  an  end  to 
you.  And  he's  as  strong  as  a  giant." 

"Ay,  but  he  doesn't  love  her,  and  I  do." 

"  Well,"  says  he,  "  you  turn  in  and  sleep  till 
near  midnight,  then  I'll  call  you.'  A  baby 
might  knock  you  down  as  you  are  now." 

"  Sleep  !  "  says  I,  "  do  you  suppose  I  can  go 
to  sleep?" 

My  blood  boiled  till  I  could  almost  hear  it 
hiss.  To  think  of  that  white,  innocent  lamb 
at  the  mercy  of  a  wolf.  And  suppose  he 
killed  me,  what  would  become  o"  her  then? 


GENTLEMAN  JIM.  33 

I  went  in  and  looked  at  the  clock.  Ic  was 
after  ten,  and  the  tired  men  had,  mostly, 
gone  to  bed.  Only  Big  Mike  sat  pretending 
to  read  a  newspaper,  and  Gentleman  Jim  sat 
carving  a  bit  of  wood. 

I  must  make  believe  go  to  bed. 

Jim  and  I  had  made  up  long  ago,  and  as  I 
passed  him  on  my  way  from  the  room,  I  gave 
him  a  sign  to  follow. 

"  Jim,"  says  I,  "  if  you  love  me,  go  and  get 
into  my  bed  with  your  clothes  on,  pulling  the 
coverlid  close  up,  as  I  do.  Then  when  you 
feel  a  rough  hand  steal  across  your  face  you 
may  know  it's  Big  Mike  feeling  if  it's  me. 
And  as  soon  as  he  is  satisfied  that  I'm  there, 
he'll  be  off  in  pursuit  of  your  little  girl." 

"  My  little  girl?  "  says  he. 

"  Yes  ;  Rosemary.     He  mayn't  mean  to  do 
more  than  frighten  her,  but  I  won't   risk  it. 
And  don't  you  dare  to  interfere,  only  be  there 
to  defend  her  if  I'm  overcome." 
3 


84  GENTLEMAN  JIM. 

Jim  was  quick  at  taking  an  idea. 

"All  right,"  says  he,  and  in  two  minutes  1 
was  flying  down  the  road  to  the  cottage  by  a 
cut  across  lots  I  thought  Mike  didn't  know 
But  he  did,  and  had  the  window  partly  open 
when  I  reached  and  seized  him  with  ono  hand 
and  closed  it  with  the  other. 

This  gave  him  an  advantage  over  me,  and 
his  blows  with  both  fists  came  down  on  my 
face  and  eyes  like  rain.  Then  he  shook  me 
till  I  felt  as  if  every  bone  was  dislocated,  and 
pulled  at  my  ears  till  it's  a  wonder  they  didn't 
fly  out,  and  at  last  he  got  me  by  the  throat. 

But  I  did  not  lose  heart.  I  had  not  been 
drinking,  as  he  had,  and  what  strength  I  had 
war  natural,  and  seemed  to  grow  instead  of 
failing.  And  the  thought  of  what  might  hap. 
pen  to  that  dear  one  if  I  failed  to  protect  her, 
made  me  free  myself  from  his  grasp  as  by  a 
miracle,  and  we  closed  in. 

And  all  of  a  sudden  the  monster  fell  heavilj 


GENTLEMAN  JIM  35 

to  the  ground,  and  lay  motionless.  I  sank  down, 
too,  utterly  spent,  but  there  were  a-plenty 
ready  to  look  after  me.  Rosemary  had 
been  awakened  by  the  opening  of  the  window, 
and  when  she  heard  it  closed  again,  she  had 
the  wit  to  see  that  there  was  two  in  the  busi 
ness.  She  get  up  and  dressed  herself,  and 
listened  to  the  blows  that  rained  on  me  till 
they  ceased ;  then  she  came  out  and  tried  to 
find  us,  but  it  was  so  dark  she  could  see  noth 
ing.  But  just  then  Gentleman  Jim  came 
hurryLig  up  with  his  lantern,  and  when  he 
saw  me  he  dropped  it,  caught  me  up  in  his 
arms,  and  carried  me  into  the  house.  And 
before  long  some  of  Mike's  mates  got  wind 
of  his  condition,  and  brought  an  ambulance 
and  carried  him  off. 

I  was  laid  on  the  school-master's  bed,  and 
Rosemary  washed  the  blood  off  my  face,  and 
felt  of  every  bone  till  she  found  one  broken, 
and  Gentleman  Jim  went  f  r  the  surgeon, 


36  GENTLEMAN  JIM. 

who  set  it,  and  told  me  my  face  looked  fright 
fully  now,  but  would  look  far  worse  by  to 
morrow. 

You  can't  suppose  that  after  that  I  was  go 
ing  to  hang  out  my  colors  for  her  to  see  and 
get  disgusted  at,  and,  as  it  was  a  broken  arm, 
and  not  a  broken  leg,  I  got  away  with  Jim's 
help,  and  had  six  idle  weeks  before  I  got  to 
work  again.  I  was  not  uneasy  about  her,  be 
cause  they  all  said  Mike  was  in  no  state  to 
molest  her  at  present.  He  had  been  a  hard 
drinker,  and  had  other  dissolute  habits,  and 
it  took  him  three  months  to  get  well. 

JOE'S   SCHEME  FOR  ROSEMARY 

After  I  was  at  work  again,  and  as  strong 
and  hearty  as  ever,  I  began  to  lay  my  plans  for 
Rosemary's  safety  against  Mike  was  out  again. 
For  he  would  have  a  double  motive  now  to 
assail  her ;  besides  gratifying  himself,  to  spite 
me. 


GENTLEMAN  JIM.  37 

One  night  Jim  and  I  sat  up  later  than  com- 
mon,  and  says  he: 

"  Joe>  you're  an  odd  stick." 

"  I've  been  thinking  the  same  of  you,"  says  I. 

We  both  laughed  in  a  silly,  awkward  way, 
and  at  last  Jim  says  : 

"  Don't  you  mean  to  get  married,  Joe,  my 
boy?" 

"  No,  iiever,"  says  I. 

"  And  why  not  ?  " 

"  I  have  my  reasons.  And  you,  Jim,  don't 
you  mean  to  get  married  yourself?" 

"  No  !  "  quite  short  and  stiff  and  hurt. 

"  Why  not  ?  " 

"  I  have  my  reasons." 

We  sat  silent  a  good  while  after  this. 

Poor  Rosemary! 

"  The  fact  is,"  says  Jim,  "  the  girls  don't 
take  to  me." 

"Would  you  want  mere  than  one  to  do 
that?" 


38  GEl   TLEMAN  JIM. 

"  Why,  no  ;  and  not  even  one.  I  don't  take 
to  girls." 

"  Then  you're  a  cold-blooded,  hard-hearted 
booby,"  says  I,  not  knowing  what  I  said,  and 
thinking  of  Rosemary,  "  to  let  a  girl  wilt  and 
droop  for  love  of  you,  and  never  so  much  as 
see  it ! " 

"What  do  you  mean,  Joe?  Who  do  you 
mean?"  he  cried  out. 

"  There  aint  but  one  girl  round  here  worth 
your  looking  at,"  says  I,  quite  sulky. 

He  turned  pale,  and  then  red,  and  then  pale 
again. 

"  Have  I  been  to  blame?  "  says  he. 

"  Why,  if  you've  got  a  heart  as  hard  as  n 
millstone,  and  I  begin  to  think  you  have,  I 
don't  know  as  you're  to  blame." 

"  But  I  thought  she  liked  you.  The  day 
she  brought  your  coat — " 

"  Yes,  she  likes  me,  but  she  loves  you.  Oh, 
Jim,  couldn't  you  warm  to  such  a  good,  sweet 


GENTLEMAN  JIM.  39 

girl  ?  Isn't  there  any  gratitude  in  you  ?  Is 
it  nothing  to  be  loved  with  such  pure  love  as 
hers?" 

"  Gratitude  is  one  thing  and  love  is  an 
other,"  says  Jim.  "  She  might  be  the  Queen 
of  Sheba  for  all  me.  I  like  her,  I  admire  her. 
I've  hugged  myself  with  the  thought  that 
after  you  and  she  had  got  married  I'd  have, 
maybe,  a  home  with  you,  and  dance  your 
little  lads  and  lasses  on  my  knee.  And  I've 
saved  here,  and  saved  there,  to  give  them  a 
schooling  equal  to  their  mother's.  And  I  was 
hoping  to  have  one  of  the  lads  named  for  me, 
and  one  of  the  lasses  for — well,  no  matter, 
it's  all  a  dream,  and  I've  waked  up  with  an 
awful  heart-ache." 

"  What  was  your  mother's  name  ?  "  says  I. 

"  Hepzibah." 

"  And  you  was  thinking  of  a-giving  one 
of  Rosemary's  lasses  such  a  name  as 
that?" 


40  GENTLEMAN  JIM. 

"  Who  said  anything  about  my  mother  ? 
says  he. 

"  Why,  I  thought  you  did.  Anyhow,  you 
had  her  in  your  mind,  hadn't  you  ?" 

"  No,  Joe ;  I've  a  good  mind  to  kill  myself, 
What  a  miserable  mess  it  is,  all  round.  You 
love  Rosemary,  and  she  doesn't  love  you  ;  1 
don't  love  her,  and  she  does  love  me ;  at  least 
you  say  so.  Why  should  she  care  for  me  ?  I 
never  said  twenty-five  words  to  her,  and  she 
doesn't  know  me  at  all.  The  next  time  there's 
a  blast  in  the  mine,  I'll  go  and  get  blowed  up. 
A  fellow  that's  made  a  good  girl  unhappy 
isn't  fit  to  live." 

"  But,  Jim,  would  you  rather  kill  yourself 
than  marry  that  dear  little  girl?" 

"Of  course  I  would." 

"  But  it  is  a  sin  to  kill  yourself." 

"  And  not  a  sin  to  marry  a  girl  you  don't 
love,  I  suppose  ?" 

"  If  you  cheat  a  girl  into  believing  you  love 


GENTLEMAN  JIM.  ±\ 

her,  of  course  it  is  a  sin ;  but  if  you  treat  her 
fair  and  square,  tell  her  you'll  be  faithful  and 
kind  to  her,  and  she's  a  mind  to  run  the  risk, 
it  is  her  own  fault  if  you  don't  satisfy  her." 

"  And  you  think  Rosemary  the  sort  of  girl 
to  run  such  a  risk  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know,"  says  I. 

"  Well,  I  am  so  sure  she  isn't  that  I'm  going 
to  propose  to  marry  her.  Will  that  suit  you, 
old  boy?" 

"And  what  if  she  says  she'll  have  you  ?  " 

"  Why,  she  shall  have  all  I  offer  her.  And 
now  let's  be  off  to  bed." 

"  But,  Jim,  she's  so  unprotected,  living 
there  all  alone.  She  needs  a  man  to  look 
after  her.  When  Mike  gets  loose  again,  what  s 
to  become  of  her?  Think  of  that." 

"  I'm  thinking  of  sleep,"  said  he. 

But  we  neither  of  us  closed  an  eye  that 
night. 

The  next   day  I   saw  by  Jim's  face  that   I 


42  GENTLEMAN  JTM. 

was  not  to  bring  up  this  matter  again,  and  1 
went  to  my  work  with  a  heavy  heart,  and  it 
turned  out,  if  there  was  any  difference,  his 
was  heavier  than  mine. 

He  washed  and  dressed  himself  in  the  even 
ing  and  went  out,  I  knew  where.  I  sat  up, 
waiting  for  him,  but  it  got  to  be  midnight, 
and  he  hadn't  come.  One  minute  I'd  think 
she  has  accepted  him,  and  I've  been  the  man 
that  sent  her  her  happiness,  and  now  Jim's  got 
near  her  he's  happy,  too.  Then  the  next 
minute  I  would  feel  uneasy,  and  afraid  he 
hadn't  been  nigh  her,  and  there's  no  knowing 
what  desperate  thing  he'd  done. 

At  last  I  couldn't  stand  it  another  minute, 
and  rushed  out  and  to  her  house.  She  came 
to  the  door  in  a  minute. 

"  Joe?"  says  she. 

"  Yes,"  says  I,  and  went  in. 

"  You  are  the  best  fellow  in  the  world," 
says  she,  "  but  clums)  they  call  you,  anc 


GENTLEMAN  JIM.  43 

clumsy  you  are.  To  think  of  your  putting  it 
upon  Gentleman  Jim  to  come  a-courting  to 
me,  when  he  doesn't  care  two  pins  for 
me.  Come,  now,  you've  just  got  to  confess. 
Wasn't  it  you  that  put  it  into  his  head  that  I 
loved  him  ?" 

It  wouldn't  have  been  the  least  use  to  lie 
about  it ;  and,  anyhow,  I'm  as  clumsy  at  that 
business  as  at  better  ones. 

"  Dear,"  says  I,  "  don't  be  angry  with  me. 
I  did  it  for  your  good.  I  have  often  and  often 
said  to  myself,  '  I'd  give  her  my  two  eyes  if 
she  wanted  them,'  and  here  was  a  chance  to 
give  what  I  valued  far  above  my  eyes ; 
yes,  to  give  the  girl  I  love  to  another  man. 
What  more  could  I  do?  It  would  be  some 
thing  to  die  for  another,  but  it's  more  to  live 
for  her,  yet  live  without  her." 

"  Dou  you  love  me  all  that,  Joe  ?  '  says  she 
"  You  never  told  me  before." 


£4  GENTLEMAN  JIM. 

*  But  you  knowed  it,  Rosemary ;  you 
knowed  it,  all  the  same." 

"  No,  no,  no.  These  things  has  to  be  said 
over  and  over  to  some  girls  before  they  get  to 
believe  them.  I  thank  you,  humbly,  for  those 
words.  I  sha'n't  forget  them.  If  you  ever  get 
hurt  in  the  mine,  and  you're  sure  to  get  hurt, 
I  shall  have  you  brought  here,  and  shall  nurse 
you  as  I  did  father." 

By  this  time  we  was  both  crying.  I  never 
see  her  so  humble  before,  and  I  had  hard  work 
not  to  fall  at  her  feet  and  kiss  the  floor  she 
stood  on. 

At  last  I  said, "  Dear,  would  you  mind  tell 
ing  me  what  passed  between  you  and  Jim  ?  " 

She  smiled  and  shook  her  head. 

"  No,"  says  she,  "  I  won't.  I  promised  I 
wouldn't.  But,  Joe,  he's  just  splendid." 

"  Haven't  I  told  you  so  a  hundred  times  ? 
says  I. 


GENTLEMAN  JIM.  45 

"  I  will  tell  you  part  of  what  passed  be 
tween  us,"  says  she.  "  It  isn't  the  part  1 
promised  not  to  tell.  But  I  can't  do  it  fac 
ing  you.  I'll  write  it  down." 

I've  got  that  writing  yet.  She  forgot  that 
I  couldn't  read  writing,  and  I  was  ashamed  to 
remind  her  of  it.  I  carried  it  round  with  me 
till  it  nearly  fell  to  pieces.  Oh,  how  I  wished  I 
had  somebody  I  could  trust  to  read  it  to  me. 

ROSEMARY'S  WRITING. 

Gentleman  Jim  came  into  my  house  looking 
so  white  that  I  thought  he  was  in  awful  pain. 

"  Rosemary,"  says  he,  this  is  a  lonely 
place  where  you  live." 

"  Yes,  very  lonely." 

"  And  it's  not  safe  for  you  to  live  here  by 
yourself." 

"  Joe  never'll  let  anybody  harm  me/' 

"  But  Joe  can't  spend  his  life  pacing  round 
your  house.  He  lost  his  reason  once  for  want 


46  GENTLEMAN  JIM. 

of  sleep  ;  and  he  has  been  pounded  nearly  to 
death  by  Big  Mike.  Another  such  smashing 
would  kill  him.  But  as  your  husband  he  could 
protect  you  without  danger  to  himself." 

"  Did  he  tell  you  to  say  that  ?  " 

"  No ;  but  you  know  he  has  risked  his  life 
twice  for  you." 

"  Is  that  any  reason  why  I  should  ask  him 
to  marry  me  ?  Ha,  ha  !  I  think  I  see  myself 
doing  that ! " 

"  Well,  now,  I'm  going  to  ask  you  a  plain, 
straightforward,  blunt  question.  Will  you 
marry  me  ?  " 

"  Then  let  me  ask  you  a  plain,  straightfor 
ward,  blunt  question.  Do  you  love  me,  Jim?  " 

At  that  he  turned  all  colors. 

"  I  don't  pretend  to  be  sentimental,"  says  he. 

11  Well,  I  do  pretend  to  be,  and  what's  more, 
I  am.  And  marriage  isn't  a  bargain  made  be 
tween  a  man  and  a  woman  ;  it's  two  hearts 
melting  into  one,  If  you  were  the  last  man 


GENTLEMAN  JIM.  4f 

on  the  earth,  I  would  sooner  die  than  marry 
you.  What  have  I  ever  done  that  you  should 
fancy  I  would  ?  Have  I  ever  followed  after 
you  ?  Have  I  so  much  as  asked  you  to  come 
to  see  me  ?  When  you  h.id  the  ague  did  I  go 
and  nurse  you  as  I  aid  the  others  ?  Then 
what  have  I  done  that  you  should  suppose  I'd 
fling  myself  headlong  into  such  an  offer  as 
yours  ;  an  offer  without  so  much  as  a  pinch  of 
love  in  it  ?  " 

"  It's  plain  I've  made  an  ass  of  myself/' 
says  he. 

"  No ;  it's  all  along  of  that  good,  blunder 
ing  Joe,"  says  I.  "  He  put  you  up  to  this 
nonsense,  I  know  he  did." 

"Well,  I  won't  deny  or  affirm  it,"  said  lie. 
"  I  know  I  was  a  puppy,  and  thought  that 
you — that  you — " 

"  Oh,  out  with  it,"  says  I.  "  He  made  you 
Delieve  I  loved  you.  But  I  aint  the  sort 
of  girl  that  pines  in  secret  after  men  that 


48  GENTLEMAN  JIM. 

never  gives  her  a  thought.  It  is  true  you're 
the  handsomest  man  I  ever  saw,  and  you 
don't  smoke  or  drink  or  chew;  and  every  way 
you're  far  above  the  other  men  ;  almost  a 
gentleman — they  all  say  so.  But  if  I'd  got  to 
choose  between  you  and  Joe,  clumsy  as  he  is — • 
thank  heaven  I  haven't — I'd  take  him  with  his 
homely  face  and  ill-shaped  hands,  and  great, 
big,  warm,  true,  innocent  heart  ;  indeed  I 
would  !  But  I'll  have  neither  of  you  !  " 

AN  EVENT  IN  THE   MINE. 

So  I  didn't  know  what  the  upshot  of  Jim's 
offer  was,  for  all  he  would  tell  me  was  that  she 
wouldn't  marry  a  man  who  didn't  love  her, 
not  she !  But  from  that  night  she  held  her 
head  up,  and  went  on  her  way,  strong  and 
brave,  neither  keeping  out  of  Jim's  way,  of 
getting  into  it,  and  to  me  humble  and  gentle  as 
a  little  child. 

As  for  Jim,  he  never  said  a  word.     For  two 


GENTLEMAN  JIM.  49 

or  three  days  he  was  quieter  than  common, 
and  then  everything  fell  into  the  old  track. 

Some  months  after  that  two  of  our  men 
was  set  to  put  in  a  shot  for  blasting,  and  Big 
Mike,  who  was  beginning  to  do  light  work, 
was  one,  though  only  a  shadow  of  what  he  had 
been.  They  had  finished  their  task,  and  were 
about  to  give  the  signal  to  be  hoisted  up, 
when  Mike  says : 

"  This  match  is  too  long." 

"No,  it  aint,"  says  the  other.  "You  give 
the  signal  and  go  up,  and  I'll  light  it,  and 
hurry  after  you." 

Mike  only  gave  a  sort  of  grunt  and  tried 
to  break  the  match,  but,  finding  he  couldn't, 
laid  it  on  a  flat  stone  and  pounded  it  with  a 
sharp  one.  AndK  if  you'll  believe  it,  cut  it 
shorter,  but  kindled  it  at  the  same  time ! 
They  rushed  to  the  shaft  like  madmen,  shout 
ing  to  the  coadjutor  at  the  windlass,  and  each 
got  a  foot  in  th  ?  bucket  before  they  remem- 
4 


50  vE 

bered  that  only  one   could   be  hoisted   at  a 
time. 

"  Go  aloft,  mate,"  says  the  other  man,  and 
took  his  foot  out  of  the  bucket.  And  then 
came  a  noise  like  seven  thunders,  and  fire  and 
hot  coals  flew  in  his  face,  and  he  was  caught  up 
and  dashed  a  hundred  feet  away,  and  lay  there 
stunned.  He'd  always  hoped  he  should  go 
to  heaven  when  he  died,  but  when  he  came 
to  himself,  he  was  certain  sure  he  was  in  the 
other  place,  suffering  torments  for  his  sins. 
And  he  remembered  all  of  them.  He  re 
membered  how,  when  he  was  a  little  lad,  he 
had  robbed  a  bird's-nest  ;  how  he  lost  one 
of  his  mother's  knitting-needles,  poking  for 
something  in  a  crack  in  the  floor,  and  then 
never  owned  it.  And  how  he  had  had 
turns  of  wishing  it  wasn't  wrong  to  do  bad 
things,  and  neglecting  to  say  his  prayers  till 
he'd  got  into  bed,  and  then  went  rig.it  to 
sleep. 


GENTLEMAN  yiM.  51 

There  was  pain  in  his  body,  but  worse  pain 
In  his  soul,  when  he  thought  he  was  lost. 

Then  he  heard  the  sound  of  a  pickaxe  that 
ever  ceased,  never  ceased  ;  another  lost  man, 
doomed  to  everlasting  work  in  everlasting 
mines. 

Well,  less  a  sinner  than  himself,  he  thought ; 
permitted  to  work,  though  never  so  hard, 
rather  than  lie,  alone  and  weary,  and  in  pain, 
doing  nothing. 

So  time  went  on,  and  the  ceaseless  sound 
of  the  pickaxe  went  on  and  on,  day  and  night, 
if  there  was  any  day.  The  man  wondered  at 
himself  that  he  could  not  die  ;  wondered  that 
he  felt  no  anger  against  the  Almighty  Being 
who  had  disappointed  his  faith  and  hope  and 
plunged  him  down  to  hell.  And  yet  was  that 
hell  where,  though  hope  was  gone,  faith  held 
on,  as  dogged  as  dogged,  and  kept  on  saying, 
"  Though  He  has  shut  me  out  of  heaven, 
and  well-nigh  broken  my  heart,  I  believe  in 


52  GEN-1LEMAN  JIM. 

Him !     I  believe  in  Him,  and  if  I  can,  always 

will?" 
And  he  thought  the  ceaseless  sounds  were 

coming  nearer,  and  gave  thanks  that  his  awful 
solitude  was  not  going  to  last  forever. 

"  God  is  just  as  well  as  good,"  he  said  to 
himself.  "  If  I  deserved  this  torment  He  was 
right  to  send  me  here.'* 

Then  he  felt  a  little  whiff  of  cool  air  blow 
ing  on  his  burning  face,  and  a  familiar  voice 
full  of  tears. 

"  Here  he  is,  poor  fellow,"  and  there  was 
Gentleman  Jim,  with  his  lantern,  shouting, 
"  Mates,  I've  found  him  !  " 

And  the  next  minute  there  came  the  sound 
of  distant  voices  drawing  nearer;  sad,  solemn 
voices,  under  the  breath,  and  then  anothei 
shout  that  made  the  mine  ring  \gain : 

"  And  he's  alive  I  " 


GENTLEMAN  JIM.  53 

THE    RESCUE. 

Then,  in  his  joy  and  surprise,  the  man 
swooned  away,  and  never  knew  how  they  got 
him  up  the  shaft,  or  saw  the  coffin  that  had 
stood  waiting  for  him,  or  heard  the  woman's 
voice  that  defied  them  all  to  nurse  him  if  they 
dared.  It  all  made  talk  for  a  year  or  more. 

But  the  man  came  to  his  senses  at  last,  and 
if  he  had  thought  he  was  in  hell  before,  he 
believed  he  was  in  heaven  now.  He  was  lying 
on  a  cool,  soft  bed,  and  there  was  somebody 
always  there,  day  and  night,  doing  everything 
mortal  hands  could  do  to  soothe  the  pain  and 
the  weariness  that  came  and  went ;  and  there 
was  the  sound  of  a  girl  flitting  in  and  out, 
with  hands  whose  touch  healed  every  fiery 
burn  it  rested  so  lightly  on. 

He  never  knowed  whether  the  time  was  long 
or  short.  He  lay  dreaming,  as  helpless  and 
weak  as  a  child ;  two  angels  taking  care  of 
him,  speaking  words  that  were  sweeter  than 


54  GENTLEMAN  JIM. 

any  music,  handling  him  as  tenderly  as  they 
would  a  baby  just  born. 

One  night  he  dreamed  that  he  was  woke 
out  of  his  sleep  by  their  voices,  though  they 
spoke  low. 

a  He'll  never  want  to  go  down  into  the 
mine  again,"  says  one. 

"  He  never  shall  go  down  again,"  says  the 
other. 

"  But  what  will  the  poor  fellow  be  fit  for?" 

"To  be  my  husband !  "  says  the  other. 

"You  don't  mean  it !  " 

"  You  will  see." 

"  God  bless  you,  Rosemary,"  says  he. 

"  He  has  blessed  me.  He  has  brought  me 
to  my  senses.  He  has  let  me  see  this  dear 
lad's  soul.  And  I  see  it  so  plain  that  when  1 
look  at  him,  all  scarred  and  seamed  and 
marred  as  he  is,  I  can't  see  anything  else." 

"  God  bless  you,  Rosemary !  What  a  mercy 
that  you  didr't  marry  me." 


GENTLEMAN  JIM.  55 

"  If  you  had  loved  me,  there's  no  knowing 
how  I  might  have  slighted  this  poor  lad,  Jim. 
I'll  confess  now  why  I  pined  and  wilted  at 
one  time.  Joe  had  told  me  that  he  loved  me, 
and  I  knew  I  loved  him,  but  he  stopped  there, 
and  never  asked  me  to  be  his  wife." 

"  The  lad  dared  not  look  so  high  ;  besides, 
he  thought  you  were  pining  for  me." 

"  Are  you  sure  ?  Well,  then,  I  shall 
have  to  ask  him  to  marry  me.  I  never  thought 
to  come  to  it,  but  now  I  must.  Too  high  ! 
Oh,  Jim,  how  could  he  think  that  ?  Why,  I 
could  go  on  my  knees  for  him !  It  was  some 
thing  to  risk  his  life  for  me,  but  to  think  of 
his  giving  it  to  his  enemy !  " 

When  the  man  did  really  wake  up  he  was 
thankful  he  had  had  one  good  dream.  All  the 
others  had  been  dreadful,  and  frightened  him 
so  that  cold  drops  stood  on  his  forehead,  and 
sometimes,  without  thinking,  he  would  cry 
out.  Then,  just  as  a  mother  runs  when  her 


56  GENTLEMAN  JIM. 

baby  cries,  two  little  feet  would  come  hurry 
ing  to  the  side  of  the  bed,  and  a  sweet  voice 
begin  to  sing, 

"  Hush,  my  dear,  lie  still  and  slumber," 

till  he  fell  off  again. 

And  after  many  and  many  a  long  week,  she 
knelt  down  by  his  side  one  night  and  says, 
"  You  are  well  enough  now  to  say  your 
prayers.  Do  you  know  '  Now  I  lay  me  down 
to  sleep'?" 

Of  course  he  did,  but  he  liked  best  to  say 
it  line  by  line  after  her;  it  carried  him  back 
to  the  time  when  he  was  a  little  lad,  and  knelt 
at  his  mother'3  knee. 

"There,  that  will  do.  Don't  weary  your 
poor  head  trying  to  think  out  something  else 
to  say." 

Later  on  she  would  sit  by  the  side  of  the 
bed,  mending  his  clothes  and  telling  him 
stories.  Her  head  was  as  full  of  stories  as  an 


GENTLEMAN  JIM.  57 

egg  is  of  meat.  At  last  Jim,  if  it  was  Jim, 
could  go  back  to  his  work,  and  she  could  take 
the  whole  care  of  the  man.  Very  often  she 
fell  asleep  in  her  chair,  being  easy  in  her  mind 
now,  and  then  he  would  try  to  slip  the  band 
age  off  his  eyes,  so  as  to  get  a  little  peep  at 
her.  This  was  hard  work,  for  every  ringer 
was  bandaged  separate;  but  he  managed  it, 
with  patience,  took  one  look,  and  hurried 
everything  back  like  a  boy  who  been  stealing 
apples  or  pears. 

She  was  given  to  talking  in  her  sleep,  and 
sometimes  would  say  things  that  made  the 
man's  heart  leap  up  in  his  breast  for  a  minute. 
But  only  for  a  minute.  He  knew  dreams 
went  by  contraries,  and  that  she  spoke  just 
opposite  to  what  she  felt. 

One  day  she  slept  longer  than  common,  and 
laughed,  and  laughed  at  something  on  her 
rnind,  till  the  man  lay  and  laughed  too,  a  silly 
softy ! 


58  GENTLEMAN  JIM. 

"You  needn't  be  afraid,  Jim,"  says  she.  "  1 
always  know  my  own  mind,  and  never  knew  it 
better  than  I  do  now.  If  I  wait  till  he's  seen 
his  face,  wild  horses  couldn't  persuade  him  to 
do  it.  No,  no  ;  there's  no  time  to  lose,  and  next 
Sunday  shall  be  the  day.  It's  the  greatest 
joke  in  the  world !  And  the  best  joke  !  I 
believe  I  shall  laugh  in  the  parson's  face ! " 

Bless  her,  how  she  laughed  !  The  man  had 
no  bandage  on  his  eyes  now ;  his  eyes  was 
saved  as  by  a  miracle,  and  he  loved  to  see  her 
so  happy  in  her  sleep.  And  surely  such  inno 
cent  mirth  came  out  of  an  innocent  heart  that 
has  nothing  in  it  but  the  fancies  of  a  little 
child.  And  yet  what  a  woman  she  was,  and 
how  willful  when  she  pleased  ! 

Now  it  was  in  the  month  of  December  that 
the  accident  happened,  and  one  Sunday  Jim 
says  to  the  man,  "  I'm  going  to  get  you  up 
to-day  and  dress  you.  Mike  has  spoke  for 
the  privilege  of  helping  me.  He's  a  changed 


GENTLEMAN-  JIM.  59 

man,  Mike  is.  You  wouldn't  know  him.  He 
got  such  a  scare  that  day  that  he's  mended 
all  his  ways ;  and  see  here !  he's  been  round 
among  the  fellows,  and  they've  made  up  this 
purse  for  you  !  You  needn't  look  so  dazed, 
man.  It  was  the  least  he  could  do  after  what 
you  did  for  him." 

Mike  came  in  upon  that,  and  when  he  saw 
the  man,  he  began  to  cry  like  a  baby. 

"  Does  he  know?  "  he  whispered  to  Jim. 

"  How  he  looks,  do  you  mean  ?  Hush  !  Of 
course  he  doesn't." 

WAS   IT  A   DREAM  ? 

Then  they  took  him  and  put  clothes  on 
him,  everything  new  and  clean  and  whole 
some  ;  he  never  was  dressed  so  in  his  life,  not 
even  on  Sundays ;  and  Mike  cut  his  hair  and 
shaved  him,  and  then  they  set  him  in  a  chair, 
and  caught  him  up  and  carried  him  to  the 
window.  And  instead  of  bare  trees  and  snow 


60  GEXTLEMAX  JIM. 

as  he  expected  to  see,  not  realizing  how  long 
he  had  been  ill,  lo  and  behold  there  was  the 
world  looking  like  a  picture-book.  How  bliie 
the  sky  was !  It  seemed  to  him  he'd  nevei 
seen  it  before.  And  the  green  grass,  full  of 
flowers,  that  he  used  to  call  weeds ;  butter 
cups,  daisies,  clover-blossoms ;  was  there  evei 
anything  equal  to  them  ? 

"  Well,"  says  he,  at  last,  "  heaven  can't  be 
equal  to  this.  I  hope  there's  a  snug  little 
corner  in  it  where  the  streets  are  not  covered 
with  gold,  but  grass  grows  and  flowers  blow, 
like  this,  and  my  mansion,  be  it  ever  so  small, 
located  there." 

Then  Mike  and  Jim  went  out,  and  the 
man's  heart  felt  ready  to  burst,  and  he  vvarted 
to  thank  God  for  sparing  him  to  see  the  beau 
tiful  world  once  more.  But  his  head  was 
weak,  and  all  he  could  think  of  was,  "  Now  I 
lay  me,"  and  so  he  folded  his  hands  and  <raid 
that. 


GENTLEMAN  JIM.  61 

Then  in  came  Rosemary,  dressed  in  white, 
with  a  sprig  of  apple-blossoms  in  her  hair,  and 
another  in  her  belt,  and  she  knelt  down  by  his 
side,  and  smiled  and  said,  "  Wilt  thou  have 
this  woman  to  be  thy  wedded  wife  ?  " 

And  when  he  could  not  answer  for  amaze 
ment  and  bewilderment,  and  an  awful  delight 
that  weighed  him  down,  she  rose  to  her  feet. 
Gentleman  Jim  came  softly  in  and  placed  him 
en  his,  and  holding  him  so  that  he  would  not 
fall,  and  the  next  thing  he  knew  he  and  Rose 
mary  were  joining  hands,  and  the  parson 
making  them  two  one. 

As  soon  as  it  was  over  Jim  caught  him  up 
and  ran  and  laid  him  on  the  bed,  and  opened 
another  window,  and  poured  some  brandy  into 
his  mouth. 

"  Don't  you  go  to  dying  of  joy,  old  fellow," 
says  he.  "  Now,  now,  don't  be  a  fool ;  behave 
like  a  man  on  your  wedding-day !  " 

I  never  heat  i  of  anybody's  dying  of  sur- 


62  GENTLEMAN  JIM. 

prise  and  joy;  if  such  a  thing  ever  happened 
it  would  have  happened  then. 

Before  long  they  all  went  away,  and  Rose 
mary  came  into  the  room  in  her  every-day 
clothes,  and  they  was  just  as  they  was  before  ; 
and  he  began  to  be  afraid  he  had  been  dream 
ing.  He  looked  at  her  wistfully,  as  much  as 
to  ask  her,  but  she  took  no  notice,  and  day 
after  day  went  by,  leaving  him  in  a  mist. 

At  last  he  says  to  her : 

"  Will  you  bring  me  a  glass,  and  let  me  look 
at  myself?" 

"  Indeed,  and  I  won't,  then,"  says  she, 
laughing,  and  looking  saucy. 

Then  he  begged  and  beseeched  her,  and  fret 
ted  till  he  made  himself  ill.  You  see,  he 
thought  if  he  looked  awful  he  should  know 
she  hadn't  married  him. 

So  she  brought  the  glass,  and  when  he  saw 
his  face  he  cried  out  with  a  bitter  cry,  and  it 
fell  from  his  hands  and  bi  oke  to  pieces. 


GENTLEMAN  JIM.  63 

"Yes,  it  was  a  dream,  a  dream,  a  cruel 
dream  !  "  says  he. 

"  Look  here,  dear  love,"  says  she,  all  in  a 
tremble,  "  what  is  this  on  the  third  finger  of 
my  left  hand  ?  " 

"  A  gold  ring,"  says  he. 

"And  who  put  it  there?" 

"  I  don't  know,"  says  he. 

"  Well,  /  know,  and  that's  enough."  And 
she  kissed  him  on  the  face,  that  hideous,  red, 
scarred  face,  never  handsome,  but  frightful 
now. 

"  Rosemary,"  says  he,  solemn  as  death,  "  are 
you  married  to  me?" 

"Yes,"  says  she. 

"  And  they  let  you  fling  yourself  away  on  a 
fellow  fit  for  nothing  but  to  hire  out  as  a 
scarecrow?  Where's  Jim?  I'll  knock  him 
down !  Where's  the  parson  ?  I'll  kill  him  .' ' 

"They  let  me,  did  they?"  says  she, 
"Which  of  them  had  a  right  to  let  or  to 


64  GENTLEMAN  JIM. 

hinder?  I'm  my  own  mistress,  and  I  know 
my  own  mind.  And  Jim  said, '  God  bless  you, 
Rosemary,'  when  I  told  him  what  I  was  going 
to  do,  and  the  parson  said  the  same,  and  Big 
Mike  said,  '  I  never ! '  which  was  as  near  to 
saying  grace  before  meat  as  he  could  get." 

"  It's  Beauty  and  the  Beast,  Beauty  and  the 
Beast !  "  says  he.  "  I'll  murder  everybody  !  " 
"  What  a  nice,  pious,  heavenly  frame  you're 
in  !  "  says  she.  "  Is  this  all  the  thanks  I  get  ? 
You'll  murder  everybody  because  you've  won 
a  pretty,  saucy,  loving  little  wife,  who  cares 
everything  for  a  man's  looks,  and  nothing  for 
his  heart  ?  For  shame,  you  dear,  old,  clumsy 
wretch,  you've  jammed  the  pin  of  my  'ker 
chief  into  my  neck.  I'm  glad  I  married  you 
when  you  hadn't  the  strength  of  a  baby  ! ' 

And  now  Jim  came  smiling  in,  looking  so 
pleased  that  the  man  hadn't  the  heart  to  up- 
biaid  him,  though  he  did  remonstrate. 

"  Oh,  it  was  none  of  my  doings,"  says  he 


GENTLEMAN'  JIM.  fit 

4 1  wanted  her  to  wait  till  you  had  seen  your 
self  in  the  glass,  but  she  wouldn't.  Such  a 
self-willed,  generous  little  piece,  as  she  is  ! 
She  said  she  never  could  persuade  you  to 
marry  her  after  you'd  once  seen  how  disfigured 
you  were,  and  so  she  had  you  taken  up  and 
dressed,  like  a  big  baby  as  you  were,  when 
you  hadn't  strength  to  stand,  and  were  too 
bewildered  to  know  whether  you  were  asleep 
or  awake.  And  you  deserve  it,  old  fellow, 
and  there  aint  a  man  in  the  mines  begrudges 
you  your  bliss." 

So,  little  by  little,  not  from  day  to  day,  but 
from  week  to  week,  the  man's  strength  came 
back,  and  love  flowed  round  him  like  a  river. 

Rosemary  got  the  school-master's  place  and 
earned  her  honest  penny,  and  she  taught  her 
husband  his  a-b-abs,  ana  set  him  copies,  and 
scolded  him,  and  laughed  at  him,  and  hugged 
him,  and  kissed  him,  and  he  minded  her  like 
a  great,  big  school-boy;  for  the  thought  of 
5 


G6  GENTLE  MAX  JIM. 

his  looks  kept  him  down.  He  never  got  to 
be  much  of  a  scholar,  but  he  learned  enough 
to  help  get  his  living  by  writing  letters  for  the 
miners.  Some  of  them  had  mothers,  and 
some  sisters,  and  many  more  had  sweethearts 
to  write  to. 

HOW   GENTLEMAN  JIM   BECAME   AN   UNCLE. 

Meanwhile,  Jim  says  to  me,  "  Joe,"  says  he, 
''you're  to  let  me  have  a  corner  in  vour  home, 
you  know." 

Says  I,  "Ay,  ay,  Jim,  if  Rosemary's  agreed.' 

Jim  burst  out  laughing. 

"  Just  as  if  I  didn't  know  enough  to  speak 
to  her  first,"  says  he. 

So  he  came,  and  we  both  said  we  had  a 
brother,  nothing  less,  and  we  never  had  any 
fallings  out,  but  lived  together  in  great  love 
and  peace,  till  a  little  lad  came  and  abode 
with  us,  and  we  named  him  Jim.  And  after 
that  the  other  one  was  always  Uncle  Jim 


GENTLEMAN-  JIM.  67 

There  were  times  when  Rosemary  would 
whisper  to  me  that  Uncle  Jim  had  known  a 
sorrow  sometime  in  his  life.  But  after  the 
lad  came  she  never  spoke  of  it.  If  there  had 
been  a  lonely  spot  in  his  heart  the  child  filled 
it  up.  And  he'd  been  lavish  with  his  wages, 
and  almost  provoked  Rosemary  by  buying 
things  for  her  that  she  did  not  need,  such  as 
flowers  in  the  winter-time,  if  anybody  ever 
heard  of  such  waste,  and  to  pay  for  their 
transportation  besides,  for,  of  course,  none 
grew  in  our  rough  neighborhood.  But  now 
all  was  changed ;  he  was  hardly  willing  to 
spend  a  penny,  but  saved  for  little  Jim. 

For  a  young  fellow  that  had  never  had  any 
thing  to  do  with  babies,  he  was  the  handiest ; 
and  little  Jim  would  cry  to  go  to  him,  even 
when  his  mother  was  holding  him.  And  she 
never  begrudged  him  the  comfort  he  got  out 
of  the  child ;  and  I  don't  think  an  own  sister 
could  have  made  him  happ'er  than  she  did, 


f]3  GENTLEMAN  JIM. 

And  women  are  quick  to  see  things  we  men 
don't  notice  ;  she  always  had  flowers  at  his 
plate,  moping,  noon,  and  night,  summer  and 
winter ;  or,  if  she  couldn't  get  flowers,  a  sprig 
of  evergreen  or  geranium.  I  can  see  the  smile 
he  always  gave  her  when  he  came  to  the  table  ; 
it  was  just  like  a  girl's. 

IN  THE   MINE  YET  ONCE   MORE. 

Now,  one  day  Rosemary  and  me  were  at  our 
dinner,  the  child  tied  into  his  high-chair  be 
tween  us,  and  all  talking  and  laughing  together, 
when  Mike  came  tearing  in  like  a  whirlwind. 

"The  mine's  fallen  in,  and  Gentleman  Jim 
is  in  it !  "  says  he.  "  And  you  won't  forget, 
Joe,  how  he  worked  day  and  night  to  get  you 
out !  " 

And  with  that  he  was  gone. 

And  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye  I  was  after 
him,  and  Rosemary  crying,  bitterly,  after  me. 

When  we  got  to  the  mine  there  was  a  great 


GENTLEMAN  JIM.  69 

crowd  of  men,  women,  and  children,  all  in 
confusion  together ;  the  chief  engineer  miles 
away,  his  assistants  too  horror-stiicken  to  give 
orders,  nothing  being  done,  and  every  minute 
worth  an  hour. 

"  Give  me  your  hand,  Joe,"  says  a  voice  at 
my  ear.  "  I  want  to  climb  up  where  I  can 
be  seen ; "  and  in  a  minute  she  was  on  an  old 
pump  that  stood  near. 

"  Men ! "  she  said,  and  she  said  it  thrice  be 
fore  the  hubbub  ceased ;  and  then  every  eye 
was  turned  to  her  and  the  baby  in  her  arms, 
and  every  ear  attentive,  and  the  chief  engi 
neer  himself  couldn't  have  given  plainer  direc 
tions.  I  hadn't  time  to  marvel  at  her  then, 
but  afterwards  I  asked  her  how  she  knew,  and 
had  she  ever  been  down  in  the  mine.  She 
said  she  never  had,  but  that  she  had  seen  pic 
tures  and  studied  books  ;  and  then  her  father 
had  explained  what  she  did  not  understand. 

Now  when  she  had  set  us  all  to  work  with 


70  GENTLEMAN  JIM. 

a  will,  she  turned  girl  again  and  sat  down  and 
cried  with  the  rest. 

The  first  thing  was  to  get  down  into  the  mine, 
but  the  tubes  and  all  the  masonry  around 
the  shaft  had  been  blown  a  hundred  feet 
away,  and  it  was  long  before  they  could  be  ad 
justed.  Then  when  we  got  down,  the  lamps 
went  out,  and  two  men  fell  dead  at  my  side. 

Rosemary  stopped  crying  when  she  heard 
this,  and  sent  men  off  for  an  ambulance,  and 
we  tried,  once  more,  to  descend.  I  never 
thought  to  ever  entei  a  mine  again,  but  Rose 
mary  cheered  me  on,  and  we  reached  the  bot 
tom  safely,  and  felt  about  in  the  dark,  for  the 
lamps  would  not  burn. 

So  we  worked  all  night,  sending  up  one 
body  after  another,  and  to  each  of  them,  not 
knowing  which  was  dead  or  which  was  alive, 
I  says,  loving  and  tender,  and  ready  to  burst 
with  grief,  "  Is  this  you,  Jim  ?  Is  this  you  ?  " 

But  none  made  answer. 


GENTLEMAN  JIM.  71 

By  t€n  next  morning  the  ambulance  waa 
full  of  the  dead  and  the  dying. 

Again  we  went  down,  and  among  huge 
blocks  of  coal  we  found  six  young  lads,  nearly 
vvorn  out.  They  had  not  dared  to  move  for 
fifteen  hours,  but  lay  huddled  together,  ex 
pecting  to  die  every  minute.  After  we  got 
them  up,  and  my  wife  had  fed  them,  carefully, 
with  hei  own  hands,  they  revived  so  far  as  to 
tell  us  how  they  had  escaped. 

Like  all  the  lads  in  the  mine,  they  loved 
Gentleman  Jim,  they  said,  and  kept  to  work 
near  him  whenever  they  could.  When  the 
mine  fell  m,  they  were  hemmed  in  with  him , 
but  before  the  lamps  went  out,  he  discovered 
a  crevice  a  lad  could  be  forced  through,  but 
a  man  could  not.  He  made  them  each  take  a 
little  coffee  from  his  can,  spoke  cheerily  to 
trhem,  sent  his  dear  love  to  Rosemary  and  me, 
and  little  Jim,  then  he  kissed  them,  and  they 
clung  to  him  and  kissed  him,  and  some  saia 


72  GENTLEMAN  JIM. 

they  wouldn't  go;  but  he  said  they  musi 
think  of  their  mothers  crying  up  yonder,  and 
made  them  promise  never  to  tell  a  lie,  or  utter 
a  wicked  word,  or  go  a  day  without  praying 
to  God.  That  made  them  love  him  all  the 
more,  and  they  clung  to  him  again,  and  cried 
aloud.  But,  one  by  one,  he  put  them  through 
the  crevice.  It  did  not  take  long  to  hear  this 
story,  and  in  no  time  some  of  us  were  down 
in  the  mine,  shouting  to  him  to  call  out  to  us 
through  the  crevice.  But  no  answer  came. 

And  the  next  I  knew,  there  were  my  wife 
and  the  little  lad. 

"  He'll  answer  the  lad  if  he's  alive  !  "  she  said. 

And  then  she  looked  the  child  in  the  eye 
as  she  always  did  when  fain  to  make  him 
mind,  and  says  she,  "  Call  Uncle  Jim !  "  and 
the  little  one  called  out,  shrill  and  clear : 

"  Uncle  Dim  !  Uncle  Dim  !  " 

And  there  came  a  faint,  faint,  faint  sound 
in  answer,  and  then  all  was  still  again. 


GENTLEMAN  JIM.  73 

We  rushed  about  in  the  darkness,  striking 
our  pickaxes  at  random.  Rosemary,  trembling 
for  the  child  in  the  bad  air,  went  up  sobbing, 
and  the  men  began  to  whisper  that  nothing 
could  be  done  in  the  darkness.  And  at  last 
Mike  and  me  toiled  on  alone,  and  almost 
hopeless,  when  somebody  came  down  with  a 
lamp,  and  it  burned  ! 

It  was  my  wife  with  hot  coffee,  and  after 
we  had  taken  it,  we  moved  about  with  fresh 
courage  till,  at  last,  we  saw  a  crevice  that 
might  be  the  one  Jim  passed  the  lads  through. 
It  did  not  take  long  to  enlarge  it,  and  soon 
we  three  stepped  over  the  barrier,  and  the 
light  of  the  lamp  fell  on  his  beautiful  face. 
He  lay  on  his  back,  like  one  peacefully  asleep, 
with  something  folded  in  the  hands  that  lay 
upon  his  breast. 

No  one  spoke  a  word,  and  in  half  an  hour 
we  had  him  home,  we  three,  and  we  knelt 
round  the  bed  and  chafed  his  hands,  and  put 


74  GENTLEMAN  JIM. 

brandy  tx  his  lips,  but  he  never  moved,  and 
heeded  neither  our  tears  or  our  cries. 

Then  Rosemary  unclasped  the  hands  that 
were  not  yet  stiffened  in  death,  beneath  which 
lay  a  paper,  on  which  was  written  in  his  own 
hand,  «  Jessie!" 

Rosemary  opened  it  as  she  opened  God's 
book,  reverently,  and  there  we  saw  a  shining 
tress  of  a  woman's  hair,  and  a  golden  ring 
from  a  baby's  head,  with  one  faded  flower. 

We  folded  them  away  with  him  in  his  coffin, 
and  we  knew  now  what  had  made  him  so  un 
like  the  rest  of  us;  so  gentle,  so  kindly,  so  un 
able  to  care  for  even  such  a  girl  as  Rosemary. 
It  was  a  pure  love  in  his  heart  for  wife  and 
child  gone  from  him ;  for  their  sake  he 
eschewed  evil  and  loved  goodness ;  for  their 
sake  he  gathered  little  children  about  him  and 
held  them  to  his  breast  as  he  should  nevel 
hold  mortal  maid. 

"  He   told    me   about    it,"   Rosemary  said, 


GENTLEMAN'  JIM.  75 

"  the  day  you  made  him  come  to  make  love 
to  one  he  couldn't  love,  and  made  me  promise 
to  bury  him  with  the  hair  and  the  flower  on 
his  breast,  under  his  folded  hands,  just  as  we 
found  him.  Oh,  how  he  loved  her!  " 

And  then  she  fell  into  my  arms  and  cried 
her  heart  out. 

And  I  told  Rosemary  what  he  said  to  me 
that  morning  long  ago  : 

"  Depend  on  it,  there's  only  one  thing  puri 
fies  a  man  more  than  love  to  a  good,  modest 
girl,  be  she  dead  or  alive." 

We  made  a  green  grave  for  him  just  under 
the  window  where  Rosemary  sat  at  her  work, 
and  planted  flowers  on  it ;  we  knew  now  why 
he  loved  to  deck  her  with  them.  And  every 
spring  the  apple-blossoms  lighted  down  upon 
it,  and  reminded  us  of  our  wedding-day,  and 
what  flowers  he  bade  her  wear  then. 

And  over  and  over  and  over  again  I  made 
her  tell  me  whose  pickaxe  it  was  that  the 


76  GENTLEMAN  JIM. 

man  half  dead  in  the  mine  heard  day  and 
night,  day  and  night,  after  everybody  else  had 
given  him  up,  and  at  last  found  and  saved 
him.  Oh,  Gentleman  Jim  ! 

Our  wee  lassie  was  not  long  in  coming  after 
this,  and  amid  tears  and  smiles  we  named  her 

JESSIE. 

And  now  good-bye,  Gentleman  Jim  !  Gentle- 
nan  Jim  good-bye. 


M81812 


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